If you're a fellow plant based lifestyler or a lover of cooking and baking, did you know about all of the different butters available for making delicious foods with? Because I sure as hell didn't!

I knew about almond butters but that was perhaps the extent of my knowledge and I definitely hadn't cooked with any of these before, so when Indigo Herbs sent me a selection of their vegan friendly butters to try, all made from various nuts and seeds, I was super excited to crack on.

Now it's no secret that I prefer baking sweet treats as opposed to cooking meals (I love both, but given the option, I choose cakes and biscuits every time!) so I decided to create some incredibly tasty vegan friendly cookies using a jar of the almond butter that came in my hamper. These were really easy to make and I followed this recipe and tweaked it to contain chunks of chocolate rather than drizzle on top, but next time I'm definitely doing chunks AND drizzle! These cookies were so good and I managed to achieve a crunch on the outside whilst the centres were yummy and chewy which I believe was down to the almond butter I used.

The amazing thing about including something like almond butter into your recipes is it's jam packed full of goodness and a fab source of protein. It's very rich in vitamin E and this particular brand by Indigo Herbs is 100% pure and unprocessed and you can spread it straight onto some toast, add it into your smoothies or cook with it! I've tried a fair few cookie recipes, both non vegan before I changed my diet and then a bunch of vegan ones too but none of them had a really smooth, buttery texture to them as you're munching away like this recipe did and again I believe that's down to using almond butter.

Some of the other butters available are hemp seed, pumpkin seed, walnut, hazelnut, sunflower seed, apricot kernels and also a couple of varieties of tahini! I used a dollop of tahini in a wonderful carrot miso sauce that we had with some awesome black bean spaghetti that we managed to find in Aldi and you can also use it to make your own hummus which I'm dying to try. I'll be doing a whole lot more baking and using the rest of my butters up so I'll be sure to share some more creations over the next few weeks!

If you want to check out the entire range of butters from Indigo Herbs, you can here.

Ah the word 'vegan'. You can easily make some folk run a mile or make them want to shake you about as if you've gone mad with your lifestyle choices. But imagine, turning up to a Christmas or New Years Eve party with a tub of these in your pocket. Or better yet, if you're hosting a party or simply visiting family over the festive season, popping these into some drinks would instantly make you the cool kid.

Let me introduce you to Orbz, the fruity balls brand who create deliciously flavour popping fun stuff to 'pimp up your cocktail'. I'm way too excited about these. If you've ever had bubble teas, you may be familiar with the similar little squishy balls that burst in your mouth and pop out some tasty fruit juice. They're super fun, come in a variety of fruity flavours AND they're gluten free and vegan. Not only can you swish them into your cocktails for a bit of fun, you can sprinkle some on top of puddings too for a dash of colour and something just that little bit different.

I went ahead and tried the apple Orbz and they were unbelievably tasty and fun to use. All I did was sprinkle some into some soda water for a bit of flavour (as I don't typically have alcohol or cocktail supplies in the house) and this was the perfect little treat. I really loved the apple flavour and I used a wider straw (a reusable one too!) so that every now and then I managed to get hold of an Orbz in my mouth and when they pop it's such a pleasant sensation.

The rest of the flavours I'll be saving to take with me to family's houses during the Christmas period so everyone can get to experience them! They are literally just pure sugar though which is why I don't want to keep them all for myself, but as a little treat for parties I think these things are great and fun for all of the family and friends. An interesting talking point and excellent way to demonstrate that vegan friendly food and drinks aren't exactly boring!

Have you tried Orbz before? Which flavour do you think you'd like the most?